Day 4: Colors & Images
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Use of Colors and Images
Today, we want to draw your attention to both the use of color and the use of images in your syllabus, and in your course documents in general. Visual design plays an important role in how students engage with your syllabus—but it can also introduce access barriers if not done carefully. WCAG 2.1 AA and the updated Title II standards require adequate color contrast and alternative text for images.
Color Coding
About 1 in 12 individuals born with X and Y chromosomes (male biological sex) and 1 in 200 individuals born with X and X chromosomes (female biological sex) are affected by some kind of color vision deficiency, commonly referred to as color blindness. One of the main symptoms of color vision deficiency is the difficulty to tell some colors apart. Whether it is for text or for items such as lines on a graph, color coding alone may not be sufficient for students who have a color vision deficiency to understand the information presented to them. It is thus important, when you are color coding information, to also provide an alternative to color coding to convey the information. We go over alternatives to color coding in the section on accessible use of color of today’s tutorial.
Images
In addition to the color scheme in an image, its quality and size matter, as well as the presence of an alternative text description of the image for screen reader users. We address all these aspects in today’s tutorial.
Today’s activities will help you think through your use of colors and add alt text that provides meaningful descriptions for students using screen readers, mobile readers, or those with cognitive processing differences.
Who benefits from accessible color schemes and images?
How do you make images accessible?
Dig deeper into the use of accessible colors and images
Now it’s your turn!
Before tomorrow
Today, we invite you to meet Gabe, a Ph.D. student who is color blind. As an engineer, Gabe often struggles with course materials that use color alone to convey meaning, such as maps or diagrams. But Gabe isn’t alone. Many students benefit from redundant cues (e.g., bold text and a symbol), and all students benefit from well-labeled visuals.
Throughout the Semester
Note: Adding alternative text to images is a big goal, especially if you are using multiple complex images in each lesson. We recommend that you break this goal down into smaller tasks such as a chapter or unit a month, or even one lesson a month, depending on the complexity of the images you are using. Focus on building the habit and address new content first.